For the past 15 years I've mainly covered business, technology and sports. I was one of the first web-centric video reporters when I started at ON24 Financial News. Now at Forbes I not only interview the who's-who of Silicon Valley, but also feature executives who live extraordinary and rewarding lives outside the boardroom. Prior to Forbes I was a morning anchor at KFTY, business news anchor at KRON, a sports anchor at ABC, an anchor/reporter for Energy News Live and a reporter for Comcast Sports Net's racing series and 49ers Insider show. I was recently named 'Star Reporter of the Year' by an industry insider who released a list of '15 Members Of The Press You Need To Know.' Plus, I've received an Emmy nod twice by the National Academy of Television Arts & Sciences, San Francisco Chapter. When I'm not interviewing executives, analysts and techies, you'll find me performing water acrobatics as a professional water skier.

Names You Need To Know In 2011: Binishells

This post is part of an ongoing effort to crowd-source a repeating feature in Forbes magazine entitled Names You Need to Know. We are looking for the people, places, products and ideas that will have significant impact in the near future. Join the ongoing conversation here.

Binishells Home

Imagine the Flintstones meet the Jetsons. The stone age is back and reconfigured for the future. Houses of the future could soon look more like what Fred and Wilma used to live in with a contemporary touch. They’re made of concrete, but mimick the hemispherical dome like structures of George and Judy Jetson’s home in outerspace. They’re called, thin-shell concrete structures. And Dr. Powel Draper, in a PhD paper published by Princeton University Press in September of 2008, said that thin-shell concrete structures are the most energy efficient buildings on the planet.

What is a thin shell concrete structure? It’s basically a shell made out of one slab of concrete. So, it’s one material stretched to create the structure, which means fewer leaks for energy to escape, except for at doors and windows. The International Energy Agency has said that by eliminating those leaks, which are typically caused when different materials come together such as sheetrock, wood beams and studs, it can reduce energy usage by up to 90% in buildings.

On top of that, the materials used to make the thin-shell concrete structure are more environmentally friendly than traditional ones. The building industry traditionally is a greater pollutant than transportation. In fact, the International Energy Agency says the most efficient way of curbing CO2 emissions is by changing construction codes around the world and making new construction greener. Using more concrete is one way to reduce the industry’s carbon footprint. Arup Engineering has said that concrete is the most energy-efficient material. It has one-quarter the carbon footprint of wood, and steel, depending on the type used, embodies 50x to 100x more energy than that of concrete.

So if these thin-shell concrete structures save energy and the environment, plus are praised by the U.S. Army Corp. Of Engineers as strong enough to resist earthquakes and other natural disasters, then why aren’t they mass marketed already?

“The achilles heal to them has been in the way they were built,” explains Nicolo Bini, who’s father, Dr. Dante Bini created a unique process of building thin-shell concrete structures in the 1960s. “The way they’ve been built in the past hasn’t been cost-effective or efficient.”

Some in the construction industry have used wood as the framework to build thin-shell concrete structures in the past. With lots of manpower and materials, they build a framework for the house, then pour the concrete on top. Once the concrete sets, the wood is removed and tossed away, leaving the thin concrete structure. So, they’d basically be building the structure twice, once with wood, then with concrete — leaving wood waste. Construction and demolition of housing waste accounts for 40% of the world’s waste, according to a paper from the proceedings of the 2007 international Conference of Sustainable Solid Waste Management.

Post Your Comment

Post Your Reply

Forbes writers have the ability to call out member comments they find particularly interesting. Called-out comments are highlighted across the Forbes network. You'll be notified if your comment is called out.

Comments

My name is Nicolo Bini and I am mentioned in this article. Some interesting facts regarding building industry ; 40% of the world’s energy is used by buildings and 40% of the world’s CO2 is produced by buildings. This, together with the staggering demand for housing internationally calls for greater interest and effort in green construction. What do you feel are the most significant developments in today’s building industry?

Nicolo, Can you tell me if your firm will be producing designs that could be permitted under more stringent and “conventional” residential design guidelines that exist in so many US cities? Great technology! Very efficient, and very beautiful, too.

Strength, speed and efficiency = smart, and not just for disaster stricken communities and developing areas, but for modern infrastructure as well. We are in dire need of creative ideas in the building sector, so Binishells is definitely a “name you need to know” in 2011.

I have been a real estate developer for over 25 years and have built millions of square feet of buildings. It is about time that a highly innovative product be brought to market to provide low cost housing while saving our environment. Bravo Binis!!

This is a great idea, however, more in-depth reporting and analysis is needed in this article. The entire life cycle of the product must be considered – for example, there is no discussion of the toxicity of fly ash (heavy metals are found in fly ash, including lead, arsenic, cadmium, to name a few); has this company looked at what happens to these and other contaminants not only in the process but at the end of the product’s life? For example, it is fine if these metals are immobilized or “locked in” with the concrete – but what happens when they disintegrate or are demolished? now you have a disposal issue for that material. There is a good article I found at http://findarticles.com/p/articles/mi_gx5204/is_2003/ai_n19124302/?tag=content;col1 if you want to look at the issue of re-using fly ash in detail.

Dear CBois, thank you for your comment and for the excellent article. Fly ash, like any component of concrete must be tested and certified as must each batch of concrete used. Through Twinings Laboratories (http://www.twininglabs.com/) we are proposing to set up portable testing units at all Binishells sites to test all materials used for their toxicity, strength and slump. Twinings and CMT will also be assisting us in providing concrete mix designs that are appropriate to the conditions, material resources and codes of the region where we will be building. I enjoyed the article and agreed with its conclusion not only about the environmental benefits of fly ash, but also in regards to it being an excellent structural and building material.

Mr. Noer, thank you for your comment. It is true that Binishells are not well suited for high density housing. However, high density and low income have generally been proven to be a poor marriage. Binishells can accommodate mid-density, and we are working on a system to provide mid-rise housing. Again, many thanks for your interest.

Michael, I agree with your comments regarding “density” type projects, and there are many DRB and zoning code issues, too. I am designing, and am readying to build shipping container-based, LEED rated component buildings. It has been an uphill design battle at City Hall. Binishells would never get approved here (Flagstaff, AZ). BUT, I like the concept!

Dear wyattsforbes, thanks for your comments. I applaud your and others efforts in applying new, greener ways of building. We have not had any issues with permitting in residential neighborhoods here in California (which has some of the most stringent energy, structural and zoning codes). With regards to HOAs, DRBs and other neighborhood specific issues – difficult to comment as that really is more of a case by case basis. Again, thanks!

What i like about these thin-shell concrete structures is that they use very little materials, whether they use fly ash or not. Fly ash I’ve read, if mixed in correctly can be safe, and can reduce the carbon footprint of concrete. But aside from that, because thin-shell concrete structures use limited materials, they’re well-suited for third world countries where resources are limited. They also require less-skilled labor to make them, so they could put more local people to work in those areas where jobs are needed. But what I’m wondering is why not use carbon fiber reinforcement instead of steel as support for the concrete? Fiber Reinforced Polymer is lighter than steel. I’m not sure how well it would hold up though with the concrete? Any thoughts on that?

Thanks for your question regarding the use of carbon fiber reinforcement. We designed our prototypes and systems to be code compliant in California, which has some of the most stringent codes with regards to environmental and structural performance. If designing for non seismic regions, it will be very possible to use other materials such as carbon, glass or natural fibers to reinforce the concrete. This will further decrease both costs and carbon footprints.